Bret Michaels brings “Nothing But A Good Time” when he launches the opening night of Parti-Gras 2023 for the partying peeps of Pine Knob.
When rockstar, reality TV celebrity, and dedicated philanthropist Bret Michaels tells you he’s going to throw the biggest party Pine Knob has ever seen… You better believe he will bring the goods! Proclaimed “all killer and no filler,” Parti-Gras 2023 has arrived, and along with it Bret has brought a star-studded lineup, ready to deliver a night of sing-along smash hits. On the ticket: Jefferson Starship, Night Ranger, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath, and former Journey frontman Steve Augeri. So put those seatbelts on… It’s time to party!
First to the stage on this rocktastic night is Jefferson Starship. They open their set with the classic “Find Your Way Back,” and our crowd is ready to sing along as our extravaganza is officially underway. They follow up with “Sara/Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and the mega-hit “We Built This City.” They finish up their set with “Jane” and close the night with a deluxe version of The Great Society cover “Somebody to Love.”
Next up, the almighty Night Ranger storms the stage and wastes no time getting to the gravy. Set opener “(You Can Still) Rock in America” gets the crowd in the mood for more, and buddy do they deliver! Hit after hit, including Damn Yankees’ classics “Coming of Age” and “High Enough” followed with the smasher “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me.” Ranger closes the night on the timeless, sing-along classic, “Sister Christian” (accompanied by 10,000+ backing singers). And now… the main event!For starters, Bret’s party bead squad hits the stage and begins to generously pass beads to the audience while an additional stage hand runs out with a stack of Bret Michaels’ signature cowboy hats, and proceeds to reward our veterans and some other nearby fans with surprise gifts directly from Bret. Local radio station 94.7 WCSX DJ Big Jim and local Detroit celeb Ryan Logan come out onto the stage and get this electrified crowd even more hyped as they ask, “Pine Knob, are you ready to party with Bret Michaels? Parti-Gras has officially started!”
“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC hits right on cue and begins to blast through Pine Knob’s quite impressive sound system. As the tune plays out, Bret’s band emerges from side stage and our crowd begins cheering. Cheers become roars as a smiling, bandanna clad, Bret Michaels struts to center stage with arms of gratitude held high to his adoring fans. “It’s time to party!” Bret proceeds to unleash the hits and opens the set with the Poison tune, “Talk Dirty to Me,” followed up by another Poison track, “Ride the Wind.” Bret steps up to the microphone, “Thank you for all the great years we’ve been partying together. Look at this… This is a good time right here!” He then thanks Pine Knob and all the crew for working until 4 AM putting the stage together. “I feel like I’ve come home, I’m in my own backyard… The Parti-Gras 2023 Summer Tour officially kicking off at Pine Knob… right here… and right now!”
Bret gives heartfelt thanks to the veterans in the audience and even gives a shout-out to Harpo‘s and Blondies from the old days. He then proceeds to grab his trusty blues harp and pipes out some warm-up licks before leading his band into the Loggins and Messina cover, “Your Mama Don’t Dance.” As this song comes to a close, Bret brings out close friend, lead singer of Sugar Ray, and music trivia master Mark McGrath. McGrath wows the capacity crowd with Sugar Ray hits “Every Morning” and “Fly.” Michaels returns to the stage and gets the crowd to light up the venue with their cell phones while he brings up the veterans from veterans row. An emotional scene takes place as the veterans receive an ear-deafening standing ovation as Bret delivers the deeply moving Poison tune, “Something to Believe In.”
Changing gears, BM follows up with the jump around good-time classic Poison track, “Unskinny Bop,” before bringing out his next special guest, former Journey frontman and singer Steve Augeri. Augeri wows the crowd with Journey hits “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) and “Any Way You Want It.” Michaels returns and sends out millions of goosebumps as he croons out the classic track, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.” After the 10,000+ partying peeps sing-along comes to a close, McGrath returns to the stage for fun and engaging version of Sublime’s “What I Got.” They follow this with Augeri giving us another smoldering performance of Journey hits “Faithfully” and “Don’t Stop Believing.” 90 minutes in and this crowd keeps on singing… every single word to every single song!
Next up is the official announcement of the WCSX dress like Bret contest winner… and Jennifer Richards steps into the spotlight to claim the prize of a lifetime… to sing a duet with Bret Michaels. Bret welcomes Jennifer to center stage and the band fires into the Poison smash hit (and the theme of the night), “Nothing but a Good Time.” Ms. Richards does not appear to have stage fright and wastes no time jumping on the microphone and nailing the chorus just like a seasoned rocker. Together the dueling Brets take turns rocking out the good time groove while sharing the mic and the spotlight (Jennifer even took a moment to bend down and grab some hands and pass out fist bumps just like a real rockstar… Epic!). The tune comes to a close and Jennifer Richards steps to the front stage and extends her hands out to the screaming fans… 15 minutes of fame… Nailed it!
Bret gets back to the mic and announces that he was bringing out the full Parti-Gras squad party for a very special song. Moments later, McGrath, Augeri, the members of Jefferson Starship, and Night Ranger take to the stage and proceed to treat these fans to the greatest finale of all… a superstar-packed, XXL version of the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic, “Sweet Home Alabama.” Words cannot describe the amount of pure good-time vibes and rock ‘n’ roll awesomeness on that stage, but to close the night on a musical memory of this magnitude… Priceless! Thanks, Bret!
Bret Michaels’ Parti-Gras 2023 is a Loud Hailer-recommended concert experience that checks all the boxes for a sing-your-heart-out, all killer and no filler, rock ‘n’ roll party of a lifetime! You don’t want to miss this lineup, so you best get those tickets today. Check Bret Michaels’ official website for tour dates, details, and current news. While you’re there, be sure to check out all of Bret’s cool new Parti-Gras merch (So you can get your swag on before the concert!).
BRET MICHAELS
NIGHT RANGER
JEFFERSON STARSHIP
MARK MCGRATH
STEVE AUGERI
313 PRESENTS
